Health and Disasters: Understanding the International Context

Every disaster is a national disaster. Yet the health impact of disasters that occur outside the United States is similar to domestic disasters and can have important repercussions for US communities and agencies, either because they now perceive a shared vulnerability and risk or because a large diaspora exists in the US that will demand information. This four-hour course for information specialists, librarians, and other related professionals looks at who's who (and why) in the international disaster community, their roles and responsibilities in pre- and post-disaster situations, and the type of information that they may offer or require to respond to real or perceived needs, with a particular focus on health. Class exercises will focus on finding appropriate sources of information to respond to client requests. Key websites will be reviewed and an extensive bibliography provided.

Course Developers

John Scott, MS
President
Center for Public Services Communications
Arlington, VA

For questions or concerns about a course, please contact the Disaster Information Management Research Center at
dimrc@nlm.nih.gov

Registration

This class is offered at no cost. Completing this class earns four Medical Library Association (MLA) continuing education (CE) credits. CE hours from this class may be used toward the MLA Disaster Information Specialization Program document of completion at the Advanced Level.

To obtain a certificate showing that you have completed this class, register with the Oak Ridge Associated Universities Learning Management System at https://oraulearning.org. After registration, select the course from the course catalog and follow course instructions. Complete the MLA-required “Continuing Education Evaluation Survey” and your certificate will be added to your Training History. Registration is only required for those interested in MLA CE credit.

Course Resources

To complete the online class, please view the video lecture and read the course materials. There is no homework. You may find it helpful to review the handouts and presentation materials before watching the course. The complete course is available on this page or on the Oak Ridge Associated Universities Learning Management System at https://oraulearning.org. Registration with Oak Ridge is required for those interested in obtaining MLA CE credit.